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Holiday San Diego DUI arrests up over last year

By Mark Deniz of The Law Offices of Mark Deniz APLC on Sunday, December 28, 2014.

San Diego DUI I arrests are up from last year. The police is in full enforcement. It is key to be safe and smart. Do not risk a San Diego DUI. If you do get stopped please remember your rights. I would commit these to memory because it will be tough to remember if the situation is happening. There are just a few main points to remember. The easiest thing to do is just do not tempt fate and risk a San Diego DUI. Get a designated driver, Uber, etc. Go Chargers!

What to do if stopped for a San Diego DUI

First, be polite. If being yourself is being a smart-ass; be somebody else. It is already going downhill when you are stopped. Don't make it worse. Give him your license and insurance and keep you conversations to a minimum.

Second, decline (POLITELY!) the opportunity to do ANY test - AND THIS IS IMPORTANT - in the FIELD. That includes any field test like walking a line or "following his pen" or blowing into ANY machine in or at his cop car. As a general rule, if you are being asked to do a "field test" or to blow into a hand held device at the point of being stopped, the cop already is planning to arrest you. Don't give him anymore evidence.

Third, if you ARE arrested, you will be asked to take a test, and likely a breath test. The cop will read you something about taking the test and the last line is "Will you take the State's Test"? That test will be given to you at the police station,AND NOT IN THE FIELD AT YOUR CAR. I tell my clients to take it. Why? I have had far more success in keeping a failed breath test out of evidence than a refused test. Plus, you might just PASS IT! If you don't take it, you will DEFINITELY be booked in jail for DUI or APC. However, always ask to have a blood test after you take that breath test. You have that right. And, that can be very smart.

DUI arrests were up this year over a year ago for the Christmas holiday and the number of fatalities remained the same, according to statistics released Friday by the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

Statewide, both DUI arrests and fatalities increased significantly this year over last.

For the 38-hour period between Christmas Eve at 6:01 p.m. and 8 a.m. today, there were 18 arrests for suspicion of drunken driving in San Diego County compared with 12 during the same period in 2013. There were two fatalities, the same as last year.

In California as a whole, 285 arrests for suspicion of drunken driving were made over the holiday compared to 221 in 2013. So far, 15 fatalities have been reported this year, triple the number for the same time period last year.

DUI arrest figures reflect only those made by CHP officers. The fatalities reported were from all law enforcement agencies.

The CHP investigates all crashes on freeways and on all roads in unincorporated areas.

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